Transforming dirt into the divine.

Above: The current state of our Fleece to Fulling blankets.

Dear Friends,

In four weeks our first program of the 2025 season kicks off as we embark on a month-long journey transforming raw wool into blankets during Fleece to Fulling. Out of all of our programs, this one most completely captures the magic of working with nature and carefully rearranging untold individual fibers through twisting and interlacing. What begins as perfect chaos on the backs of sheep is slowly and methodically passed through fingers again and again until finally, the stuff of the field becomes the stuff of the home.

This process is the ultimate in recycling: soil becomes grass, grass becomes wool, wool becomes cloth, cloth eventually becomes soil. The wheel of the cycle has been turning this way for millennia, and despite humanity’s recent turn towards harmful synthetics, it’s still within our power to give that wheel a little nudge. We’ll be pushing it along for the whole month of May.

On behalf of our Board and staff, best wishes in your own dirt to divine transformations.

Justin Squizzero

Director

We're Back in ONE MONTH!

There might be six fresh inches of snow on the ground in Vermont (seriously, no April Fooling), but summer is coming sooner than we think! There is still space in all of our programs, but we hope to fill them with your bright faces before winter returns and we close for our next winter break. Tempus fugit.

Coming in our first two months:

We would love to see you here for these activities and hope you can join us!

Learn more about our Programs

Say "Hello!" to Our New Instructor and Office Clerk

When we announced that we were looking to hire an Instructor and Office Clerk, we really didn't know what to expect. The position that we were looking to fill is rather niche, requiring a uniquely specific combination of skills, interests, and personality. What didn't surprise us was the caliber of the applicants. Our community encompasses so much talent and expertise that we wished we could hire everyone who applied! Ultimately we had to choose just one, and we hope that you'll extend a warm welcome to Emma Geddes as she joins The Newbury School of Weaving team.

Emma is a weaver and ceramist from Washington/Oregon, newly transplanted to Vermont to work for The Newbury School of Weaving. After learning about the school from her first weaving teacher in 2022, she set it as her goal to attend a Foundations class someday. Two classes and less than three years later, she's thrilled to now be a part of the organization. The school's connection to Scots weaving traditions resonates with her family roots on the Isle of Lewis, the original spark for her interest in textiles.

Emma brings with her a background in cultural anthropology, nonprofit administration, and public media, most recently serving as creative director for a community radio station on the Oregon coast. She splits her creative efforts between the tactile messiness of wheel-thrown ceramics and the methodical planning of weaving. Outside of this, she's often found quilting, knitting, recording audio, or poring over vintage print ephemera for design inspiration.

Meet Our Board

We're thrilled to welcome Catherine Kidder to our Board of Directors. Catherine, a 44-year resident of Newbury, has been part of numerous local projects spanning civic, cultural, justice, and arts initiatives. After various careers and raising three children, she wound up as a teacher/librarian at the Newbury Elementary School next door to the Weaving School. Since retirement, Catherine’s been the volunteer director of a nonprofit supporting three preschools in south India for children living in poverty. Her mother was a weaver, but Catherine has no background in fiber arts. She is deeply committed to seeing the Newbury School of Weaving make its home in the Newbury community.

One Last Thing!

As long as we're making introductions, meet these little faces, freshly minted on March 30 from Burroughs Farm, where Director Justin and his husband Andrew call home. All eight pigs and mama sow are doing "cleverly."

As always, we can only do what we do with your generous support. Gifts of all sizes make a tremendous impact. Thank you.

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